Shade
by Shade Salogel
Summary: **On Hiatus, waiting for inspiration to finish editing** Interesting things happen at the Temple when a new student is brought in, especially when the Council orders QuiGon and ObiWan to take the initiate on a mission.
1. Chapter 1

A/N-This was written by two college students. It's quite AU in some parts, but we had a lot of fun with it. Enjoy, and review!

Disclaimor: We don't own Star Wars or any recognizable characters.

Shade Salogel knew that he was much too old to be scared-after all, he was four years old today. But still, the man standing at the door was huge! He had come on a spaceship-Shade could see it in the man's mind, and then he saw himself. Quickly, he looked down at his own toes, hoping that the pictures would go away. Mama said that if he saw pictures, he would be taken away. He didn't want to be taken away.

"Where's your parents, young man?" The man asked, his voice kind, but Shade still jumped.

"I'll get Mama." He mumbled, and scurried off, leaving the tall man in the dark brown robes at the door. Quickly, he got Mama from the kitchen where she was making his birthday cake. She went to the front door, and Shade hid next to the couch to listen. No one ever found him when he hid.

Mama and the big man talked, but Shade didn't really understand what they were saying. There were a lot of strange words, like 'Jedi Master, the Temple, Master Yoda', and other things like that. Finally, Shade got bored and wandered back to watch the cake bake. It was fun to sometimes watch with his inside eye and see things happen in other places. Shade loved to watch the food cook in the oven. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming towards him, and guiltily closed his inside eye.

Mama came in the door, and she looked sad. Instead of scolding Shade, like she usually did when he watched things like that, she just hugged him.

"What's matter?" Shade whispered, as she started crying. "Mama?" He asked, getting scared when the big man came into the kitchen.

"You have to come with me now, Shade. Come on." The man said, reaching for the boy's hand. Shade backed away, blue eyes huge.

"No! Shade stay! He hide!" He declared, and vanished right before the astonished eyes of the Jedi Master. Larissa let out a half-sob, half-laugh as she realized what had happened.

"Now you've done it! He won't be out for an hour at least, even if you do leave the house! And don't even try to find him with-with the Force. I've tried it enough times, and it doesn't work. Go wait outside, and I'll see if I can convince him to come out." She ordered, recovering herself and wiping away her tears. Bewildered, the Jedi Master obeyed, having already felt for the boy in the Force. He hadn't been able to find any trace of Shade.

Once the man was out of the house, Larissa turned to the far corner underneath the kitchen table. It was Shade's favorite place to tuck himself away into, so that he was doubly hidden.

"Come on out, baby. Come to Mama." She called softly, opening her arms. Immediately, a small, invisible form barreled into her, and clung to her, shaking. "It's alright, Shade. It's all right. You have to go away for a while, but Mama will be here waiting for you. Let me see you." Slowly, the boy turned visible, his eyes filled with tears. Gently, Larissa wiped away the tears, and hugged him once more. Then she sat him down at the table, pulled the cake out of the oven, and gave him his piece of cake.

That cheered him up considerably. Afterwards, Larissa packed a small bag of clothing and other things, and gave it to him. Finally, she took out a long rope. Shade stuck out his lower lip when he saw it, but obediently held out his right hand. Larissa tied it loosely around his wrist, then hugged him again and brought him to the door. The Jedi Master was waiting outside.

"Take care of my son. Hold onto this, and you won't loose him. Shade, do what you're told. Be good, son. I love you."

"Love you, Mama." He whispered, his form starting to shimmer as he fought against the instinct to go 'hide'. The Jedi Master picked him up and carried him off. Shade stared back at his Mama the entire way, watching her in his inside eye.

Then they got on a spaceship, and Shade promptly forgot to be scared. He wiggled as he was strapped into a seat, wanting to see inside everything, but the straps were secure. After a few minutes, they took off, and he defiantly used his inside eye to look into all of the machines.

Eventually, he fell asleep. The Jedi was greatly startled when he glanced back to check on his charge, and found that the boy was gone. The rope vanished right where it should be on his wrist, and it looked like the straps were wrapped around nothing but air. Once again, he searched the Force, but could find no sign of Shade. He sighed, and wondered how to warn the Council about this.

Shade bit his lip as he stood in front of the twelve members of the Jedi Council. They were all staring at him, and he was being bombarded with pictures. Suddenly, all of the pictures but one stopped.

"What do you see?" A man, even taller than the one who had taken him away, asked. This man had dark skin, and didn't look very nice.

"Cup." He whispered, his voice barely loud enough to be heard.

"Now what do you see?" The man asked, leaning back in his big chair. Shade shivered, wishing that his Mama were there to hold his hand.

"Bug-big bug."

They went on through several more pictures before Shade got tired and bored. "No more pictures! Shade get taken 'way if he see pictures!" He declared, and the tall man frowned.

"You will do as you're told, young man." He declared, his voice so cold that Shade gave one frightened squeak and vanished. All of the Jedi Masters sat forward in their chairs, startled. They couldn't sense the boy anywhere!

"Here, the boy is." Yoda announced, his hand resting on a quivering bit of air next to his chair. Then, Yoda himself looked startled when he was shoved forward a bit, and Shade hid behind him. "Very unusual, this is. Left alone, the boy will be. Not old enough, is he, to explain this. With the other Initiates he will stay. Call Master Reed-take the boy, he will, to the Initiates.

Within minutes, Shade found himself being carried by the man that had taken him away from his Mama. He was placed on a bed- the little boy curled up and cried himself to sleep.

Mace Windu sighed, again. Shade had been here only about a week, and he was turning the Temple on ear. So far, no one but Yoda could sense the boy when he vanished. Whenever he was scared, or upset. Or anything like that, Shade just vanished. Already they had had to search the Temple five times to find him. Until he was older, and could control the instinct to disappear, the only thing the Jedi could do was try to keep a rope on Shade.

Qui-gon Jinn was striding through the halls of the Jedi Temple when he suddenly paused, sensing something. He put a hand on his lightsaber, and slowly scanned the area. There was no one around him.

"Hello! You big-you a Masther?" A cheerful young voice asked, apparently coming from under a chair. Qui-gon knelt, and stared hard at the air. There was a giggle.

"I hide-ev'ryone look for Shade!"

Just then, Mace Windu came down the hall. He distractedly nodded to Qui-gon, his eyes busily scanning every part of the hall. He was apparently looking for something, or someone.

"I'm glad you're back, Qui-gon. We need your help. Would you come with me to the Council Chambers?"

"First, could you tell me why that chair just spoke to me?" Qui-gon interjected, and the Jedi Master nodded, suddenly looking very satisfied.

"Shade, let me see you." Mace ordered, and it was obvious that he was trying to moderate his voice so that he wasn't too loud.

A little boy, about four, with very messy white blond hair shimmered into view. He stood next to the chair, looking down at his bare feet- there was a pair of boots lying on the floor next to the chair. The boy looked very small.

"What's his midi-clorien count? I could barely sense him!" Qui-gon said, staring at the boy who was doing his best to avoid looking at Mace.

"We don't know. We haven't been able to get him to stand still long enough to find out." Mace said through gritted teeth, keeping his tone light so that he didn't frighten the boy standing in front of him. Qui-gon watched, mystified, as Mace took a rope out of a pocket, tied one end around Shade's wrist, and picked him up.

"Who exactly is this boy?" Qui-gon asked as they walked down the hall. Shade stuck his thumb in his mouth, and Mace, with a disgusted look, firmly but gently pulled it out.

"Don't do that, Shade." The Jedi Master ordered, and the boy in his arms vanished. They both heard contented sucking noises a moment later. Mace groped around for a moment, then found Shade's hand, removed the thumb, and gently slapped the back of the boy's wrist. "I said no." Immediately there were noisy tears, but they had just stopped at a door.

Mace handed over the sobbing bit of air and the rope attached to it to a waiting lady Jedi Master. Mace looked incredibly relieved when the door closed, and they couldn't hear Shade's crying anymore.

"No one but Yoda and now you can sense that boy in the Force. We're making no progress at all in training him-if he vanishes, we can't even be certain if he's still there!" It was the most frustrated that Qui-gon had ever heard Mace Windu.

"How long has he been here?"

"16 days. Every day is a new trial. Can you believe that yesterday we found him in the middle of the Archives? He was using the Force to read them while they were still on the shelves! No other Initiate has ever behaved like him. His mother was an Initiate here, but she left when she didn't find a Master. Her husband died before the boy was born, so we know nothing about him. There's no record of anything like this in the Archives. And with Master Yoda, Shade just giggles, calls him 'funny bug', and plays with his ears! No one knows what to do."

"Have you asked his mother for advice?" Qui-gon suggested tentatively, wondering how a four-year-old boy could confuse and frustrate Mace Windu so much.

"Yes. She couldn't tell us anything- the only thing that she really knows is that he's usually obedient, and will show himself if ordered to."

"Then why was he having problems just now?"

"Nap time." Mace responded gloomily. "He never wants to take a nap, so we have to hunt him down every day. At least he follows a pattern about where in the Temple he hides."

They were finally at the Council Chambers, and Mace regained most of his dignity. It was hard to get all of his dignity back when there were several tear marks on the front of his robes, and one spot where Shade had wiped his thumb after sucking on it,

"Something must be done about Shade." Mace declared as he stalked majestically to his seat and sat down. Obi-wan quietly joined Qui-gon in the center of the circle.

"Decided, I have." Yoda announced, nodding his head. "With Qui-gon and Obi-wan, the boy will go."

"What?" Everyone in the room gasped, except for the confused Obi-wan. Yoda nodded gravely.

"Responsibility, the boy must learn. Here, he will not. Take him with you, you will." Yoda nodded once more, then left the room, mumbling to himself.

"We can not take a four-year-old into a planetary civil war!" Qui-gon stated firmly.

Two hours later, the argument was finally resolved- Shade would go with Qui-gon and Obi-wan. Qui-gon hurried out of the room, Obi-wan close behind him. Qui-gon turned to Obi-wan, obviously tense but controlling himself.

"Go get the boy, Obi-wan. He's in with the rest of the Initiates. I'll get the rest of the supplies, and meet you at the spaceship."

Obi-wan nodded, and hurried over to the room. Once there, he found a young boy standing outside of the door, holding a pack The boy yawned heavily, and his eyes widened when he saw Obi-wan.

"Big light!" He whispered loudly, looking amazed. "Shade see big light in you!" Obi-wan reached out to take the boy's hand, and the boy, startled, bit.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N-Sorry this is so short. It's midterms this week, and studying is a priority! If you want more, review and let me know!

Obi-wan359-Thanks for your review! It's nice to know that we're not the only ones that find Shade adorable!

Disclaimer-We don't own Star Wars or any recognizable characters.

It didn't take Obi-wan long to convince Shade that he wasn't dangerous. As Obi-wan carried Shade down the hall, the boy cocked his head to one side, and considered Obi-wan.

"Who you?" He asked, and Obi-wan chuckled.  
"I'm Obi-wan Kenobi." He laughed as the boy tried to say that several times, and failed, finally giving up.

The flight there was interesting. Obi-wan fed Shade cake and then the boy vanished when he fell asleep. Qui-gon and Obi-wan figured out the Shade meant the Force when he spoke of the "Big Light". On this trip Shade renamed Qui-gon "Master" and Obi-wan "Student".

They arrived on the planet and met Felix the Governor, whose adoptive daughter was missing. After they had gotten settled into their quarters, Obi-wan managed to get Shade to go down for a nap. While Shade was asleep Obi-wan went to see if Qui-gon needed him. Both of them got a very powerful danger sense from Shade. They ran into the room where he had been sleeping, to find Shade being held up by a very large droid. They took care of the droid, and comforted Shade.

Qui-gon went to see if he could find Corinne. He left instruction that Obi-wan was to call him if there were any problems. He was not gone 20 minutes before there were problems. This time there were several droids that attacked. Obi-wan called Qui-gon and let him know that he and Shade had to leave their room. Out in the halls Obi-wan got himself caught by Felix. Shade was hiding in an alcove near by. Qui-gon came along shortly after. He convinced the rather unhappy Felix to let Obi-wan go. While this was going on Shade found Corinne and brought her to where Qui-gon was. Since Corinne was small Shade was able to hide both of them.

They got to their ship and left but did not get very far before they were attacked. Felix did not want to let Corinne go, since she was Force sensitive. He also wanted to get his hands on Shade. They were force to land their ship on the other side of the planet, so that they could make some repairs.  
Shade watched intently over Obi-wan's shoulder as he worked on patching the hull of the ship. Corinne was up with Qui-gon inside the ship.

"Hurry Student! Nasty machines come fast." Shade whispered, holding the end of Obi-wan's robe tightly.

"Go wait by the ramp Shade." Obi-wan ordered, wincing as he heard several thumps and bumps as Shade obeyed. Shade was very prone to tripping over anything in his path. He had just finished putting the patch on when he heard Shade cry out.

He whirled, and found a droid holding Shade up. Obi-wan yanked his light-saber off his belt, by before he could flick it on, it was grabbed from his hands with the Force. Governor Felix emerged from behind a rise with almost 2 dozen droids.

"So, you've decided to enjoy my hospitality once more." Felix said, with a false sincerity, studying Shade intently. The boy's form flickered a few times as he tried to hide, but he was clearly too tired and too scared to vanish completely. Obi-wan gathered himself and Force-jumped high over the droids, summoning his light-saber.   
He landed next to the ramp, and grabbed Shade with one hand-the boy was a dead wait in his arms, and looked to be unconscious. Obi-wan's light-saber thumped into the palm of his hand, and as it did so, he felt a sharp prick. He glanced down, and found that a tiny needle had been attached to his light-saber.

Obi-wan sent an urgent call to Qui-gon as he realized he was already feeling woozy, and the droids were closing in. He manages to talk down two of them before falling into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Thanks to all who reviewed! Here's a bit more, so enjoy. I'll probably have to start updating once a week, on Saturdays-my homework load increases daily. If anyone wants to beta, let me know-I've done my best, but time is something of an issue.

Disclaimor-We don't own Star Wars or anything recognizable. Shade is the exclusive property of the authors.

"Student? Student, wake up! Take away big bowl, student. Shade can't reach big light!" Obi-wan groaned softly as he woke up, feeling small hands shaking his shoulder. He had a very bad headache, and didn't really want to deal with Shade, but he opened his eyes anyway.

"What is it, Shade?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes and sitting up. The little boy settles himself in Obi-wan's lap, shivering.

"Take away big bowl." He whimpered, rubbing his head.

"What so you mean 'the big bowl' Shade?" Obi-wan said as he adjusted Shade on his lap so that he could look at him straight on. "I don't see a big bowl. Where is it?" he asked the young boy as he looked around them to see if he could figure out where in the galaxy they were.

"Big bowl not let me fall in big light! Look at inside eye – then see big bowl. Take it away!" Shade ordered, sticking out his lower lip.

"Ok, Shade. I have an idea. Why don't you show me what the 'big bowl' looks like, and then I will see if I can take it away. Sound good to you?" As Shade shook his head, Obi-wan tried to connect with the Force to see if he could figure out what in the galaxy the boy was talking about, but when he did he only met a wall. There was something preventing him from fully connecting with the Force.

Not long after this discovery, Felix came in to have a nice (not) talk with them. After he had left, Shade was looking around and found a secrete passage. When it opened he promptly fell in. When they got out of the room where they where being held Obi-wan noticed that he could fully connect with the Force again. They wandered around for a while before they found a way out. When they got out they found a grove of trees that they could hide in while Felix and his men looked for them. While they where in the trees Obi-wan contacted Qui-gon to let him know where they where. Qui-gon picked them up just before they where found. On the trip back to the Temple both of them slept quite a bit.

After arriving at the Temple and talking with the Council, Obi-wan was sent to the med-center. Shade found him there. For the next three days they slept off the drugs that they had been given. Then the Council gave them a new mission to another planet in the same system as the last one-Shade was to go with them again. Apparently the Council still wasn't feeling up to dealing with Shade.

"Student, Shade still not feels good." Shade announced as the ship entered the atmosphere. He was looking rather green again, and Obi-wan sighed. The boy was, for once, visible for longer than two minutes at a time, so something was definitely wrong.

"Is it your tummy again, Shade?" Obi-wan asked as he looked over at Qui-gon, with a look that said that he hoped the answer was yes.

"Shade tummy hurt, and Shade's head! There men with dark light trying to find Shade again. It tickles." For emphasis, the boy sneezed three times in a row.

"That is going to make things interesting." Qui-gon said, half under his breath so that only Obi-wan could hear.

"I fully agree with you, Master." Obi-wan replied as he started to undo his straps so that he could go and help Shade. He barely managed to get Shade to the bathroom in time. The boy was crying a little as he finished throwing up, and cuddled into Obi-wan's arms.

"Shade wants Mama! She make bad men go away!"

"I know you do, Shade." He said, as he held him close, half wrapping him in his cloak to try to help him feel better. Not too long after that, Qui-gon found them sitting the same way, both fast asleep. He knelt down and put a hand on Obi-wan's shoulder. As he did so, his apprentice stirred.

"We have arrived. Are you ready to start?" Qui-gon asked, glancing down at Shade with a smile.

"Just say the word and I'm with you." Obi-wan said, still half asleep.

"Well, you do need to be awake first." Qui-gon commented, lifting Shade so that Obi-wan could get up. After a moment, Obi-wan stood, and swayed a little, waiting for the dizziness to pass. Once his padawan was a little steadier, Qui-gon handed the limp Shade over.

"Yes, you are right. It would be very helpful to be awake. Speaking of not being awake, I wonder why Shade is still visible. Every other time he has fallen asleep, he's vanished." As Obi-wan spoke, they both looked down at a very visible Shade, not sure what to make of it.

"Take 'way big bowl! Shade wants big light!" The boy suddenly cried out in his sleep, and woke himself up.

"Hey, are you alright, Shade?" Obi-wan asked, concerned about the mention of 'the big bowl'.

"Something tells me that he is still under some kind of effect from that drug that they used on you two." Qui-gon said as they walked toward the front of the ship.

"Shade not like big bowl. Why big bowl still here?" The boy asked, shifting in Obi-wan's arms so that he could see where they were going.

"Master, do you think that the drug may be affecting Shade's ability to connect with the Force? He said the same thing when we were in the room that had the Force blocker in that fortress where they put us."

"That may be. Can you connect with the Force? No, just leave the packs for now." Qui-gon lowered the ramp, but wasn't in a hurry to leave the ship. Obi-wan stood just behind Qui-go as the ramp lowered. He had never thought about the fact that the drug might be affecting him the same way as it did Shade. As he stood there waiting for Qui-gon to move, he closed his eyes and relaxed, careful to not drop the boy who had once again fallen asleep in his arms. As he did so, he felt the comforting presence of the Force around him and reached out for it. Qui-gon felt a surge in the Force and knew that the drug had not affected his padawan the same as it had the boy who was sleeping peacefully in Ob-wan's arms.

"Well, that's reassuring. Let's go meet our reception committee."

"What?" Obi-wan asked, startled out of a light but very refreshing meditation. Qui-gon chuckled.

"Come along." Qui-gon led the way down the ramp. At the bottom were several security men and three men who looked very similar. It was Felix's father and two brothers. They all stared intently at the sleeping boy in Obi-wan's arms.  
Qui-gon and Obi-wan bowed to the group assembled, although Obi-wan's bow was not nearly as deep as his Master's was. He did not want to drop Shade, after all.

"Welcome, Master Jedi. We are most grateful to the Council for answering our plea for assistance so quickly. But why are there three of you? I had thought that a Master only had one student at a time." Felix's father spoke, and his voice was smooth and oily, the kind that caused instant distrust. Shade whimpered a little, and hid himself under Obi-wan's cloak in his sleep.

"Thank you. I am Jedi Master Qui-gon Jinn, and this is my apprentice, Obi-wan Kenobi. The boy has been placed under my guardianship by the Council for the time being, but he is not my padawan." Qui-gon explained to the group of men standing not far from them.

"Ah. Well, we are most pleased to have you here. I am Justinian, king of this world-these are my sons, Nero and Darwin. This man will show you to your quarters-he is the Captain of the Security." Shade woke up again, and stared around with very large eyes, shivering when he saw the three men staring intently at him.

Obi-wan, seeing Shade's reaction to what he saw, casually pulled his cloak around the boy, hoping to make Shade feel like he was hiding. Shade clung tightly to Obi-wan, his form shimmering a little. Obi-wan followed Qui-gon, very uncomfortable walking in front of Justinian and his sons.

They were led into the heart of an ancient stone building. Obi-wan had a hard time keeping track of all of the halls that they had gone down, and guessed that the security man was purposely trying to confuse them. The walls were very thick, and the light was dim-this building didn't feel entirely safe.

"Shade down." The boy whispered, wanting to walk. Obi-wan let him down, but held tightly to his hand. They finally stopped in front of a set of huge wooden double doors-their guide opened one door, and ushered them in.

"If you need anything, the intercom is on the desk. The king will contact you when he is ready." With that, the man turned and left. The Jedi stared at each other, and Shade stuck out his lower lip.

"Shade hungry! He wants cake!"

"Well, now we wait." Qui-gon said, as he settled into one of the chairs in the main room of their suite. Shade marched over and plopped himself into Qui-gon's lap, promptly falling asleep again. The drug was definitely messing with his Force control-half of the boy was invisible.

"Well, it looks like the drug is still having some interesting effects on him." Obi-wan commented as he reclined on a couch opposite the chair where Qui-gon and the sleeping Shade were sitting. It did not take Obi-wan long before he too was fast asleep.  
After seeing that Shade was not the only one who was still battling the drug, Qui-gon slowly got up, careful to not wake Shade, and set him back in the chair, covering him up with his cloak so that he would not get cold. He then made sure that his padawan was alright, and then went to see what the rest of their quarters looked like. He was careful, however, to keep a good watch in the Force on the sleeping boys in the next room.  
There were three connecting rooms, all of them opening off from the lounge. Qui-gon paused as he felt a ripple in the Force. Turning, he found that now bits and pieces of Shade were missing. It looked very odd, especially when the visible parts turned neon orange. Another ripple, and Shade was back to his normal state of invisibility. Qui-gon shook his head, then froze. An answering ripple came-from the dark side of the Force. Shade and Obi-wan both woke up. Shade whimpered.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N-Thanks to all who reviewed! Next week is spring break, and I might not have internet access, but I shall try to continue-if you want me to. R/R please!

Disclaimer-We don't own Star Wars or any recognizable characters.

"Master?" Obi-wan asked, as he jumped up from the couch.

"Yes, Obi-wan, I felt it too. Shade, come here please." Qui-gon said as he walked towards, the door, to make sure that no one was outside of it. Shade didn't move.

"Legs don't work!" He called, staring at the appendages like they had betrayed him. Qui-gon turned around to look at Shade, and then he looked at Obi-wan. Obi-wan was looked at him at the same time with the exact same perplexed look as Qui-gon was sure was on his own face.

"Won't move!" Shade, with his hands, moved his legs so that his feet were on the floor. He tried to stand, and promptly fell onto his face. When this happened, both Qui-gon and Obi-wan ran to catch the boy. They ended up reaching his side at the same time. Obi-wan scooped up the now visible Shade, and glanced over at Qui-gon to see what should be done.

"Ouch!" The boy complained, rubbing his nose and glaring at his legs. "Dark light stuck in Shade's back-it make it so Shade can't walk!" Once again, Master and Padawan exchanged looks of surprise.

"This is going to make things interesting." Obi-wan commented, and Qui-gon nodded.

"Yes, it will." Qui-gon said, as he got back to his feet and began to pace. "It looks like we will need to contact the Council to see what they think should be done about all of this."

Shade glanced up form his legs to the door and frowned. "Mans with big dark light!" he announced and held out his arms to Obi-wan.  
Obi-wan took Shade into his arms, and went to stand on the other side of the room from the door. Qui-gon stayed where he was but made sure that both of them were in a good position before he turned his full attention to the door and what might be behind it.

The door flew open and the king stood there, his two sons behind him, along with almost 20 droids. All three of the men had red-glowing light-sabers in hand, and Qui-gon quickly pulled his out. Obi-wan set Shade down and took out his own. Shade pulled himself over to a chair, and tucked himself under it.

"Give us the boy, and there won't be any problems." Justinian stated calmly, glancing at the pair of legs protruding from under the chair.

"No." Qui-gon stated simply, planting himself in the way. Obi-wan moved up beside him, and both activated their light-sabers.

"And we would appreciate it if whatever or who ever made Shade like that would change it back so that he is normal again." Obi-wan said making it very plain that he would not let them get to Shade very easily.

"Oh, that drug Felix gave him? It should have worn off by now." Justinian commented, advancing on the Jedi. Justinian and his older son attacked Qui-gon and the younger son went after Obi-wan. The droids just charged in, spraying blaster fire around, more of a hindrance than a help.

The battle intensified greatly when Qui-gon and Obi-wan realized that the humans were just holding them back so that the droids could get to Shade. There was a frightened squeak, and Shade was held high in the air by a triumphant droid.

"Oh no you don't." Obi-wan said as he broke off the fight with the younger son and made a fantastic leap for the droid that had Shade. The droid crashed to the ground as Obi-wan's light-saber cut it in half-Shade made a bubble around himself, and wound up completely buried under droid parts. Obi-wan didn't have time to did him out-Darwin (younger son) attacked again.

Suddenly, all of the fighting stopped-a young voice was singing some nonsense. After a moment, the fighting resumed to the sound of rather unusual accompaniment. The fight went on like this for some time. Finally, Obi-wan managed to knock Darwin to the ground and used the Force to pull his saber from his grasp as he fell. Obi-wan held him on the ground without too much trouble. All he had to do was hold the point of his saber to Darwin's chest, and the man held quite still. Qui-gon was similarly holding down Nero (other son). Justinian stood back, clearly furious, but unable to do anything.

"Well, this has been a pleasant conversation. Obi-wan, contact Master Yoda, please." Qui-gon said pleasantly, holding the hilts of three other light-sabers than his own. The padawan turned to the holophone in the corner of the room.

"Obi-wan, don't do that." Felix ordered, just as pleasantly. Both Jedi turned to see Felix standing there, Shade in his arms and yet another red glowing light-saber in his hand.

"And why not?" Qui-gon asked, a look of pure interest on his face.

"You will not get away with this, Governor. The Council will not let you get away with this, and neither will we." Obi-wan stated firmly, as the two Jedi and the Governor stared at each other while the other three in the room just stood there.  
Shade did not look happy.

"Put Shade down!" He ordered, fighting Felix's tight hold. The man tightened his grip. "Put down! Down! Down!" The boy was clearly about to loose his temper. Qui-gon and Obi-wan exchanged glances.

"Be quiet, boy!" Felix shook Shade-the boy turned and bit his hand. Felix shouted, and dropped him. Shade landed hard, and screamed in rage. He started beating the ground, kicking his feet, and yelling.

He vanished, and suddenly, ripples started in the Force, spreading out and growing in intensity. The building started to shake from the pressure, and all standing were staggering, trying to stay on their feet. A fire burst up around Shade, and all of the men gasped. The boy continued his temper tantrum, not seeming to be hurt by or even aware of the fire all around him.

"That is quite an interesting Force reaction to a temper tantrum-at least to me." Obi-wan said, as he glanced around at the others. They were all as stunned as he was about what was going on with Shade.

They all started getting very worried when the fire intensified in heat until it was almost lava. Obi-wan and Qui-gon quickly sent calming thoughts, but met a very strong wall.

"This is getting nowhere, Master. We need to calm him down and fast!" Obi-wan said, just as another set of powerful Force waves shook the castle, making it almost impossible to stand.

The boy's screams of rage were slowing, as he tired himself out using the Force. Obi-wan got as close as he dared, until the heat was almost too much for him, and then called out to Shade.

"Shade, it's student. You need to calm down, alright?" Obi-wan said to the small boy who was still very angry about all that had been happening to him. Qui-gon stepped up beside his padawan, seeing what Obi-wan was trying to do, and trying to help him.

"Shade, this is Master. Listen to student. We cannot help you if we cannot get near you." Qui-gon grew quiet, and waited to see what would happen. The others who were there watched this take place in amazement. After a long moment, the fire vanished, and a very red, teary, tired Shade appeared. He held out his arms to Obi-wan, buried his face in Obi-wan's robe, and started crying softly.

"Shade sorry! Shade not 'posed get mad! Shade sorry."

"We know that you are, Shade. We know you are." Obi-wan said as he scooped Shade up into his arms, walking over to stand beside his Master on the opposite side of the room from Justinian and his two sons.

"Well, let's try this again, shall we?" Qui-gon asked, handing Obi-wan a transmitter. Obi-wan juggled Shade and the transmitter for a moment before getting a firm grip on both of them. Qui-gon, during Shade's temper tantrum, had relieved Felix of his light-saber.

"Ah-choo!" Shade sneezed, and a little spurt of fire came from his mouth. The boy looked greatly startled, and Obi-wan nearly dropped him. Shade's aim was pretty good-he got the droid sneaking up on them and melted half of its circuits.

"Well, that was interesting." Obi-wan commented, as he glanced over to see if Qui-gon had noticed what had happened.

"Indeed." Qui-gon regarded the boy for a moment. "I think that you had better stand for a while, Shade. And don't look at anything flammable."

"Flam'ble? What flam'ble?" Shade asked, sliding out of Obi-wan's arms and actually landing on his feet. He smiled in delight as his legs worked.

"Do you think that we should contact the Temple about all of this now, or when things are a little more settled?" Obi-wan asked his Master, watching as Shade gleefully jumped around, making sure his legs were working the way they should.

The boy suddenly sneezed again, and the rest of the droid got melted. Obi-wan and Qui-gon exchanged glances, then looked at their stunned captives. All four were staring at Shade with absolute astonishment, a touch of fear, and much greed.

"Contact the Temple. I think these men should have the pleasure of meeting the Council."

"As you wish, Master. Should we use the comlink or the holophone?" Obi-wan asked with a slight smile, glancing at Qui-gon.

"Ah-choo!" Qui-gon looked at the roasted holophone, and blinked.

"The comlink." He decided, with a nod.

"Well, it looks like we don't have much of a choice, do we." Obi-wan said, glancing at Shade. The boy wore an expression of something between guilt, shame, and surprise at what had just happened. This time, the sneeze just missed Justinian. The man jumped back.

"Do something about that boy! He's not safe!"

"Shade safe. Nose just tickle!"

"What is making your nose tickle, Shade?" Obi-wan asked, half guessing what the answer would be but wanting the others in the room to hear it from the boy.

"Dark light." Shade whispered darkly, wrinkling his nose and glaring at the four men. "Dark light bad-always tickles and hurts!" Another sneeze, and the wall looked a little melty.

"Does that explain things? I suggest that unless you wish for the boy to melt everything in the room that you leave for the time being." Qui-gon told the four men who were not looking too happy at the moment. They looked even less happy when they had to pass fairly close to Shade to get to the door. Just as the last of them reached the door, there was a thunderous sneeze, and the bed went up in flames. Shade gave a startled yelp, choked, and coughed. Water splashed in, and put out the fire.

"All better." Shade announced, apparently not aware of the charred wood and blankets. The boy yawned, went over to a couch that hadn't been damaged. He stood looking at it for a moment-it was just high enough that he couldn't climb on. Obi-wan and Qui-gon watched as the boy vanished. There was a strange twisting ripple in the Force, and suddenly Shade reappeared on the couch. He promptly fell asleep, turning invisible.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N-I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! School was very crazy, and I've been working every spare minute all summer long. I haven't really gotten a chance to get any writing done. However, if you want to read something I wrote with a very close friend, it's a published novel! If anyone is interested in it, just email me. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer-I do not own Star Wars, or any recognizable characters. Shade is all mine-ask before you borrow him, please!

Jedi Padawan Anaka Ronilav was in the marketplace, when she felt a tug on the end of her cloak. She turned around to see a small boy with very messy white-blond hair standing there in bare feet. He looked at her, and smiled.

"You have big light. You help Shade find Master and Student?" The boy asked, and Anaka blinked, wondering what in the galaxy the boy meant.

"Who are you?" She asked, kneeling down to study the boy. She noticed that his clothing was what an Initiate would wear. "Who are 'Master and Student'?"

"My name Shade. Master is-uh-" The boy looked frustrated, obviously searching for a name he didn't know. Then he grabbed Anaka's hand, and she got a picture sent to her through the Force. It was a picture of Master Qui-gon, and Obi-wan. "Shade fell asleep, and when he wakes up, they gone! Shade not finds them anywhere."

Anaka called her Master to ask for advice, and Master Grace White had the privilege of meeting Shade. Master White had Anaka take Shade back to their quarters, while she contacted the Temple to find out what was going on. Somehow, Qui-gon and Obi-wan had gotten captured. Master Windu came to help Master White search for the missing Jedi while Anaka babysat Shade. Once back in her room, Anaka fell asleep, with Shade sound asleep next to her.

Anaka awoke to small hands shaking her shoulder. "Wake up, 'Naka, wake up!" Shade said, and opening her eyes, she found the boy standing right over her.

"What is it?" She asked, glancing at her chronometer. For once, she had gotten more than two hours of sleep, and it felt very nice.

"It buzzes!" Shade announced, pointing to her comlink.

"When?" She asked, still not fully awake, and not at all in the mood to be dealing with anything right then. But, she reached for her comlink as she waited for Shade to answer.

"Little bit 'go. Shade shake hard to wake you up, 'Naka." He declared, and closed his eyes as Anaka flicked on the comlink. She blinked as she felt movement in the Force-apparently Shade had had a sudden desire to watch the inside of a comlink.

"Yes, Master? Do you need me?" Anaka asked, trying to not laugh as Shade 'watched' the inside of her comlink.

"Do you have the boy?" Her Master's voice was unusually tense, and Anaka came completely awake. She glanced at Shade, who was still deep in the Force, and hid another grin.

"Yes, Master. He's right in front of me."

"Good. We've got to get Qui-gon and Obi-wan, and get off of this planet, now!"

"You know where they are, Master? I was under the impression that no one knew exactly where they are." As she spoke, Anaka got off of her cot, and started tossing things into the travel bags so that they could get out as quickly as was needed when the time came.

"Yes-Master Windu found them. They're on the other side of the planet, and are being held in a very secure location. We're going to have an interesting time getting to them. We have to get out fast-something here is preventing us from going into full mediation-the Force is being blocked, slowly but surely."

"Well, that will make things very interesting. What do you want me and the kid to do?" By the time Anaka had asked this, she was almost done with packing the bags.

"Get everything into the spaceship, then come meet me in the marketplace. Try to keep the boy inconspicuous."

"Well, the last part will not be hard, the way he vanishes!" Anaka commented, with a smile.

"True. I'll see you shortly. Signal if you need help." Shade's eyes popped open as soon as Anaka turned off the comlink.

"Shade un'stand now-he can make buzzer work!" The boy announced triumphantly, then glanced around at the bags uncertainly.

"Well, kid, it looks like we have to get our stuff to the ship, and then meet Master White. Are you ready to go?" With one look around, Shade found his bags, then walked to the door. He turned there and waited for Anaka-the doorknob was too high for him to reach.

"Shade ready."

"All right." Anaka grabbed her gear, and juggled it around until she could take Shade's hand. He was very easy to loose. They walked through the streets, and Anaka could feel that Shade was using the Force.

"Well, there it is. What do you think, Shade?" Anaka asked, as they walked up to the Jedi Starship.

"Big ship! It goes fast?" Shade asked, eyes wide. Suddenly, he vanished-Anaka heard a voice behind them, and whirled, dropping her bags. As she turned, she Force-grabbed her saber and activated it before she had finished the turn. Her saber was met by the saber of the speaker.

"You have quite good reflexes for one so young." Was all that the man said. He was dressed in what looked like Jedi robes, except for the fact that they were black instead of the normal brown.

"I do not react well to being startled-don't do it again. Pleased to finally meet you in person, Xanatos." Anaka said, as she deactivated her light-saber and clipped it to the back of her belt.

"Who you?" Anaka's knee piped up, and Xanatos looked startled. Shade popped into view then, studying Xanatos intently.

"It's all right, Shade. He won't hurt you." Anaka told the little boy, sending Xanatos a look that warned him to behave.

"You big. Why you got dark light? No more pictures!" Apparently, Shade had picked up on something-he shook his head, looking frustrated. "Shade gets taken 'way if he sees pictures!"

"Don't ask. Not even some of the Masters know how to translate what he says. Well, Shade, meet Xanatos. Xanatos, this is Shade." With that, Anaka picked her bags back up and headed into the ship. "Shade, bring your things on in so that we can get to the others."

"Kay!" The boy tripped and clunked his way up the ramp with typical childish clumsiness. Xanatos winced, and used the Force to catch Shade when he almost went headfirst over the side, and got an indignant look. "Shade knows how to float! Come on, Xan'os!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" The man asked, shaking his head as he looked at the very little boy. "And I think that I will stay out here."

"No! Come help Shade put bag high! You big-bigger than Student. Come on." The boy beckoned, planting his hands on his hips and looking impatient. Xanatos looked further up the ramp, and caught Anaka's eye. She was watching the scene in amusement.

"Come on in, Shade. I will help you put your bag away. I think Xanatos wants to stay out here and keep watch until we come back out." Anaka glanced at Xanatos, and found that he was looking very relieved.

Shade sighed heavily, but walked up. He handed his bag to Anaka, watched while she put it away, and then tripped his way back out of the spaceship. Xanatos was even more stunned when Shade took his hand, sneezed several times, and started talking.

When Anaka finally came out of the ship, it was to find a very uncomfortable Xanatos just standing there with Shade at the bottom of the ramp. She had to fight to hold in her laughter, and couldn't disguise her grin when she got to them.

"We go find Student and Master?" Shade asked hopefully, then squeaked and vanished when a tall man came around the spaceship-he had a red-glowing light-saber in hand.

"I'll be taking that boy." Just as Anaka was reaching for her saber, she caught a glance from Xanatos that told her to not do anything.

"And why would you want a little boy like him?" Xanatos asked, telling Shade through the Force to go to Anaka. It was a very good thing that she had gotten to them before the man had shown up, because the man was quite close to them. When Xanatos was sure that Shade was with Anaka, he stepped in between the man and Anaka and Shade, ready to defend them if he had to.

"That boy is priceless! You look like a reasonable man-why would you defend a brat like him? Have you seen his temper tantrums?" Felix asked, his voice Force persuasive.

"Shade sorry!" Came a soft whisper from behind Xanatos, and he blinked. Anaka hushed Shade, and then spotted the droids coming up behind them. She stepped closer to Xanatos so that she could tell him.

"I think that they are trying to close in on us. What do you want to do?"

"Get out of here. I'll be along shortly." Xanatos was evidently unhappy with Felix. They both heard a frightened yell, and whirled to find Shade being held up by Justinian. The king was also holding a strange gun-shaped device, and keeping it pointed at Shade.

"No! Give big light back!" Shade cried, fighting against Justinian. He was clearly no match for the man without the Force.

"Anaka, get into the ship and contact the others, and tell them what is going on." Xanatos ordered, readying himself for a fight.

"Are you sure? I am not a little kid-I know how to fight." Anaka told him, really not wanting to leave him so outnumbered.

"Yes, I made a vow that I would never cause any harm to Angela. I think that you getting hurt would definitely be the worst thing for her. Don't worry, I'll get that kid and be right in-I promise." He said, with a grin, and turned to his opponents. Anaka shook her head, and ran up the ramp of the ship. She paused to turn on the outside camera, to record the fight, and then hurried on.

Shade had gotten over his initial fear, and twisted in Justinian' arms, trying to bite him. Justinian remembered that trick, though, and slapped Shade. The boy started crying again. Xanatos pulled out his light-saber, coldly furious.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N-Here's some more! Thanks to all who have reviewed. I'll try to post as often as I can. Starting very soon is when the story gets AU, so I hope you like it anyway!

Disclaimer-I don't own Star Wars or any recognizable character.

"You know, you should not hit someone, especially not a small child who hasn't done anything to you." Xanatos stated, starting to circle closer to the man.

"He's a child. Children need to be disciplined. Who do you think you are? You're no Jedi!" Justinian demanded, regaining his confidence now that all of his sons had joined him.

Anaka was sinking into the pilot's chair of the spaceship. The first thing she did was switch on the outside cameras so that she could see what was going on. Then she turned to the comlink.

"Master, we have a problem. The men that have been looking for the boy found us at the ship, and they have Shade at the moment." Anaka said into the pickup as she watched what was going on outside. Xanatos was making progress against the three men that he was fighting, but Justinian was backing away from the fight, still holding Shade.

"I'll be there as fast as I can!" Master White said, and clicked off. Anaka winced as she saw Justinian hit Shade again.

"I am going to help now." Anaka told herself, turning to run back outside. "I don't care what Xanatos says, he does need help."

Anaka made a beeline for Justinian, but Nero broke off his fight with Xanatos and attacked her. He was startled at how good this 'little girl' was. Anaka used the skills that she had learned from both Obi-wan and Angela to help her as she tried to get to Justinian before he could get away with Shade.

She got Nero's light-saber from him, and was about to run after Justinian again when Nero produced one of those odd blaster things, and pointed it at her, and shot. Anaka froze as a bubble of emptiness went up around her-she couldn't sense the Force anymore!

"Anaka!" She heard her name being called, but it echoed all around her, so she didn't know where to look. She just stood there, fighting to be able to sense the Force, but she was somehow completely blocked from it, and the feeling was making her lightheaded. Another long moment of nothingness passed, then she blacked out.

She woke up to small hands shaking her shoulder. "'Nanka! 'Nanka, wake up. Bad mans take us. Xan'os there – he hurt."

With that last comment she was wide awake. "Where is he?" She asked as she looked around the cell/room where they where being held.

Shade led her over to the far corner. It looked like someone small had tried to get Xanatos into a more comfortable position. He was on his back with his limbs in some semblance of comfort.

She went over to him, to see if she could see how bad his injuries were, but she could see nothing.

"How long have we been here?" She asked Shade. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders telling, her that he had no idea. Just then Xanatos stirred, and Anaka turned back to him. Before he could say a word, she put a hand on his shoulder.

"It looks like we got captured. Go back to sleep, I will keep watch." She said, and it did not take long before he was out cold again. She settled down next to him to try and get some meditation. She watched as Shade imitated her, and smiled.

Anaka came out of her very shallow meditation to find Shade asleep and Xanatos watching her.

"What?" She said to him.

"Where are we?" Xanatos asked, carefully sitting up. He blinked when he saw Shade-the boy was back to parts of him being invisible, so he had some connection with the Force again.

"Not sure, how are you?" she asked looking at him trying to get a sense of how hurt he was, but she was still having trouble connecting with the Force.

"I've had worse. What was that device? It knocked me out – that's never happened before."

"You mean the thing that they hit the boy and me with?" she said turning to glance at Shade. She did a double take when she saw him half there.

"Yes, I don't believe I've ever felt that way before. Where did you find that boy? No one just vanishes like that!"

"I don't know where the Council found him. I know that this question is going to sound strange, but can you connect to the Force?" As she asked this, she glanced side long at him.

"Of course. Why?" He asked absently, staring at Shade and shaking his head. The boy woke up just then, and became completely visible. He came over and plopped in Anaka's lap, staring at Xanatos.

"I was just wondering. Shade, they brought in some food while you were asleep. Why don't you go over and eat yours so that Xanatos and I can talk."

"Kay!" he agreed cheerfully, and tripped his way over there. Both winced, watching him-he seemed much clumsier than most kids his age.

"The reason I asked about your connection to the Force is because it seems that one of the side effects of whatever that thing is that they used on the kid and I is, besides making us very sleepy, blocking us from using the Force. My connection is coming back slowly. I was just wondering, because if you still have your connection, could try to find out more about this place. That is, if you are feeling up to it. The boy said that you were hurt, but without the Force, I couldn't tell if he was right or not."

"Yes, I was hurt, but I've taken care of it. Mostly. That's not good, that the Force is blocked for you. Keep the boy away, and I'll try to see where we are."

"Don't worry about Shade. At the moment, his connection to the Force is worse than mine, I think. But I will keep his distracted. Oh, I should warn you . . ." Anaka stopped and looked at Xanatos intently for a moment before continuing. "Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan may be here in this place as prisoners also."

Xanatos looked startled, then hid it. He blinked once, glanced at Shade, and held in his emotions. "Is that the 'student and Master' the boy's been talking about?"  
All Anaka could do was nod. "He is only four years old and he's not too good with pronouncing names yet, so he has his own way of naming us. He calls me 'Naka, and you have heard how he says your name, and what he calls the others."

"Yes. Wake me up if something happens." Xanatos closed his eyes and sank into meditation.


End file.
